The crowd inside the Thomas & Mack Center began to stir a few seconds before the Lakers took the court, the buzz caused by LeBron James strolling into the arena to see his son play.
The elder James took a baseline seat as Bronny James and the rest of the Lakers took the court for warmups ahead of Saturday night’s NBA Summer League game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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There was a point early in the second half when LeBron James began to offer advice to Bronny — the kind of encouragement that helped Bronny put up a solid performance during the Lakers’ 94-81 win.
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He had 14 points on five-for-11 shooting. He made one of four three-point attempts and also had three assists and two steals.
Bronny’s defense was solid as well.
“Yeah, we want him to play on the ball,” said Lindsey Harding, Lakers assistant coach and Summer League coach. “Especially in tight moments, I like the ball in his hands and I want him to make those decisions. You can go through as many drills as you want, but nothing beats live.
Lakers star LeBron James sits courtside during the team’s NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
“So even after this, he will sit with his coach and watch his reads. Some are great, some can be better. … But it comes with confidence and even this game, whether he made the shot or not, that’s not what it’s about. It’s about making the right read.”
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A few possessions after Bronny got the crowd cheering by driving the length of the court and scoring on a left-handed layup, LeBron started instructing him.
“More. More. Get downhill more,” LeBron told him.
On his next play, Bronny did just that, driving in for a layup.
Early in the fourth quarter, Bronny drove baseline and threw a pass that was tipped out of bounds.
“Pull-up,” LeBron told him. “Going right, that’s a pull-up.”
When a pass was thrown ahead to Bronny in front of the Lakers’ bench in the fourth quarter, LeBron yelled, “Knock it down!”
Bronny did, drilling a three-pointer. He did this despite nursing a sore hip after falling hard to the court earlier in the quarter.
Having coached up his son enough, LeBron left with about five minutes remaining.
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Late in the first quarter, Darius Bazley blocked a shot and took off down court.
“Go Baz,” LeBron James uttered. “Go Baz.”
And Bazley did, finishing with a dunk.
Bazley had a complete night, producing a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five blocked shots.
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“I guess I would show all my shows are on the defensive end,” Bazley said. “I’m trying to prove that I can switch one through five. I can be in the right spots, protect the rim, all that type of stuff. Offensively, just doing what’s asked — offensive rebounding. Like you said, being a screener, creating advantages for other guys.”
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Even with a sore ankle that was taped after the game (Harding said he would be fine), Bazley left an impression.
“Bazley is an amazing defender,” Harding said. “He can guard on-ball. He can guard the point guard. He can guard the center. He does a great job off the ball. Sometimes defenders are great on-ball and not on-ball and vice versa, but he can do everything. He’s long. We need him for every position and they were huge blocks.”
Etc.
Dalton Knecht, who said he suffered cramps in both his legs during Thursday night’s game against the Mavericks, didn’t play Saturday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
